What Can Coaching Do For Me?

What Can Coaching Do For Me?

This post comes as a result of a conversation with a complete stranger, who spotted my business card whilst I was paying for stuff I'd purchased in the sales.

Potential client (Pc):"NLP Life Coach . . . . . . . . . now I know what a life coach is but what's NLP?

Me (M): opting for the simpler answer "It's a form of psychotherapy that I use in the kind of coaching that I do."

Pc: helping herself to a card "Oh yeah, it says coaching not life coaching. Where did I get life coaching from?"

M: "Sometimes we see what we are thinking about rather that what is there."

Pc: "Hey . . . . . . are you coaching me now?"

M: "No!  . . . . . . . . . Why, do you feel like you might benefit from coaching?"

Pc: "Me! No, I'm just ordinary. No plans for global domination or anything. "

M: "So coaching is just for potential megalomaniacs. . . . . . . Right?"

Pc: "No, no, that's not what I'm saying. I'm saying that I'm not like an Olympic hopeful or some sort of high flying CEO or something. Me! . . . . . I couldn't even manage my 'A' levels."

M: "Are 'A' levels still something that you would like to achieve? Oh and before you answer drop the 'No' off the beginning of the sentence and check out how you feel doing that."

Pc: "I'm too old for 'A' levels, it would have to be an NVQ now."

M: "An NVQ in . . . . . ."

Pc: "Customer service maybe . . . . . ."

M: "Maybe you're pretty good at that already. What would be the next step up from that?"

Pc: "Retail management! Yeah I reckon I could run this joint."

It is at this point that one of Pc's co-workers reminds her that she has other customers waiting. I wish her a Happy New Year and turn to leave but she calls out.

Pc: "No, wait I want to talk to you some more."

M: "Well that's kinda what the business card is for."

Pc: "No, no, I'll just take one and then find some excuse not to call.

M: "There you go with those 'Nos' again."

Pc: "Give me 5mins to clear this line, then I'll take my break PLEASE!

M: "I'm meeting a friend in Costa in about 15mins. You have than long."

Pc:"Wait . . . . . . am I getting charged for this? "

M:"Let's call it your Free Introductory Session. "

She was there in just under 4mins and opened with

Pc: "So what do you think my problem is?"

M: "It's not about what I think. It's about what you think, feel and perhaps most importantly imagine. The first step is usually deciding what you want. So what do you want?"

Pc: "Well an NVQ in Retail Management seem like a sensible way to go."

M: "I'm curious about the factors that prevented you from sitting 'A' levels and threatened to prevent you from using my business card to call me. On a scale of 0 to 10, 10 being very unlikely, how likely is it that these same factors might prevent you from pursuing your NVQ."

Pc: "You ain't easy are you?"

M: "Card doesn't say anything about easy either. "

We talked for the next 10 mins about career prospects, relationships, confidence and motivation. I left her with my card and an assurance that her 1st session would be free if she dropped her excuses and booked an appointment before the end of January 2014.

If she manages to be one of the first 10 people to do so then she gets a free RDNLP mug and t-shirt with which to kick start her progress.